Aquatic toy



DE LOSS v. THOMAS ETAL 3,045,636

AQUATIC TOY July 24, 1962 Filed March 6, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORSDeLoss V. Thomas F I g. 3 y Harold J. Roberts 34 Attorneys July 24, 1962DE LOSS v. THOMAS ETAI. 3,045,636

AQUATIC TOY Filed March 6, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 DeLass V; :-Thqmas yHarold J, Roberts 1 N VEN TORS I July 24, 1962 DE LOSS v. THOMAS ETAL 3,

AQUATIC TOY Filed March 6, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TORS DeLossV.Thomas y Harold J. Roberts a H6fir'ieys v y 1962 DE LOSS v. THOMAS AL3,045,636

AQUATIC TOY Filed March 6, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS DeLoss V.Thomas By Harold J. Roberts 4'75 r j Attorneys 3,045,636 AQUATIC TOY DeLoss V. Thomas 24 Clinton St., Redwood City, Calif.,

and Harold J. Roberts, San Francisco, Caliil; said Roberts assignor tosaid Thomas Filed Mar. 6, I961, Ser. No. 93,420 7 Claims. (Cl. 115-23)This invention relates to aquatic toys and particularly to aself-propelled boat-like device for the enjoyment of both swimmers andnon-swimmers.

It is an object of the present invention to'provide a buoyant vesselcapable of comfort-ably supporting a person in an upright position inwater with part of the torso above the water and with propelling meansconveniently disposed for actuation manually by the person. 7

Afurther object of the invention is to provide such a device which isunusually stable so as to prevent acciden-,

tal overturning in the water and which presents a minimum of resistanceto forward movement through the water.

A still further object is the provision of a device of the kinddescribed which is of inexpensive manufacture readily assembled by thepurchaser and which has improved assembly and lubrication features inits propelling mechanism.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will be madeapparent in the following specification wherein the invention isdescribed in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings.

The particular form of the invention herein disclosed is designed andproportioned for use by children and is intended for the pleasure ofswimmers and bathers who use it as a paddle boat. It will, however,become apparent as the description proceeds that the principles of theinvention are adaptable to use for adults either for pleasure or forlifesaving purposes.

In the drawings: 7

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a paddle boat embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same taken as from the line II-II in FIG.1; 7

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the same from the line III--III in FIG. 1;

' FIG. 4 is a plan view taken from the line IV--IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view taken from the line V-V in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the same;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VII-VII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the lineVIII-VIII of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line IX--IX of FIG. 8.

The body of the vessel as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, inclusive, is molded asa single piece of foam or expanded plastic material with a smoothexterior surface and of very light weight. It comprises a forwardlyextending slightly tapered prow It) and a pair ofside walls 11 extendingupwardly therefrom and in which are supported a pair of paddle wheels12, the details of construction of which will hereinafter be describedmore fully. At the upper forward edges of the side walls Ill areoutwardly extending splash guards 13 best seen in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7.These guards are continued downwardly and rearwardly to terminate inhorizontal stabilizing fins 14 which are extensions of a horizontalstern panel 15 shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 as in substantially the same planeas the prow.

At their lower edges the side walls curve inwardly and merge to form aseat 16 in which a person sits in a position to manipulate the paddles12 by hand cranks 1'7.

arrears Patented July 24, L962 The seat is open at the front so that thelegs of the occupant may extend downwardly into the water, it beingunderstood that the boat with an occupant will be submerged to about thecenter of the paddle wheels or slightly more or less depending upon theweight of the occupant.

Centrally of the prow and on the under side thereof as best shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 5 is a keel 18 which is extended rearwardly as at 19 tojoint the seat 16 for reinforcement thereof and to provide a dividedopening through which the two legs of the occupant may extend. The prowis alsoreinforced by a thickened marginal portion 20 on its underside asshown in FIG. 5 providing cavities between the outer edge and the keelwhich contribute to buoyancy as the vessel movesiforwardly through thewater. The back or rear portion of the seat is also provided with twoopenings the shape being best illustrated at 21 in FIG. 3 and anotherreinforcing keel-like member 22 is disposed between these openingsbehind the seat. The purpose of the openings 21 is to relieve thevertical surface formed by the back of the seat to facilitate the flowof water therethrough as it passes around the body of the occupant andthus further contribute to the easy movement of the vessel through thewater.

Since all of the elements below the water line or horizontal plane whichpasses approximately through the center of the paddle wheels areconstructed of the very buoyant material above described they contributeto the buoyancy of the vessel. The lower portion of the occupants bodywhich is submerged in the water tends to reduce the weight sustained bythe vessel.

The details of construction of the paddle wheels 12 and actuating cranksare best shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. Referring to FIG. 8, the crank 17with a journal member 25 at one end and a handle pin 26 at the other endis die-formed of plastic as an integral unit. The handle pin 26 isslightly enlarged at its ends as shown in exaggeration at 27 and ahandle 28 is fitted over the pin by tion. The flanges at the end of thisbearing bushing prevent its movement in the direction of its own axisand the members 30 thereon prevent rotation of the bushing in the sideWall 11 of the vessel. The bushing 29 is of the same plastic material asthe crank member as is also the paddle 12. The journal 25 of the crankis of X- shaped cross section as is most clearly shown in FIG. 9 so thatupon rotation thereof in the bushing 29 actual contact between thejournal and the bushing is confined to four rectangular areas. Theseareas are lubricated by the water in which the vessel floats which isfree to enter at the space between the journal and the paddle wheel.This end of the journal is slightly enlarged as shown at 32 in FIG. 8 sothat the paddle wheel can be forced onto the end of the journal andretained thereon by this enlarged portion. The opening through thepaddle wheel is of the same X section as that of the journal whichprevents rotation of the paddle wheel with respect to the crank. Thuswith four simple die cast plastic parts, the entire crank and paddlewheel assembly is provided. While the bushing is of course made as apart of the body of the vessel, the other three parts may be shippedseparately to save shipping space and can easily be assembled by thepurchaser.

The aquatic toy of the present invention is manufactured veryinexpensively in large quantities because each of its several parts isdie-formed of inexpensive plastic material and no assembly at the timeof manufacture is required. By reason of the fact that the two paddlesand cranks are disassociated from each other and separately operable,they may be employed for steering either abruptly or gradually byadjustment of their relative speeds.

We claim:

1. An aquatic toy comprising a buoyant vessel having a relatively flatbody including a prow and a stern with an intermediate opening for anoccupant, side walls extending upwardly and downwardly from said bodyand having inwardly curved merging portions to form a seat beneath saidopening, the forward portion of said seat being open to permit the legsof the occupant to extend into water in which the vessel floats, andmanually actuated propelling means.

2. An aquatic toy comprising a buoyant vessel having a relatively flatbody includinga prow and a stern with an intermediate opening for anoccupant, side walls extending upwardly and downwardly from said bodyand having inwardly'curved merging portions to form a seat beneath saidopening, the forward portion of said seat being open to permit the legsof the occupant to extend into water in which the vessel floats, acentral keel member beneath the prow extending rearwardly and downwardlyand joining the forward edge of said seat.

3. An aquatic toy comprising abuoyant vessel having a relatively flatbody including a prow and a stem with an intermediate opening for anoccupant, side walls extending upwardly and downwardly from said bodyand having inwardly curved merging portions to form a seat beneath saidopening, the forward portion of said seat being open to permit the legsof the occupant to extend into water in which the vessel floats, acentral keel member beneath the prow extending rearwardly and downwardlyand joining the forward edge of said seat, all formed as an integralcasting of plastic material.

4. An aquatic toy comprising a buoyant vessel having a relatively flatbody including a prow and a stern with an intermediate opening for anoccupant, side walls extending upwardly and downwardly from said bodyand having inwardly curved merging portions to form a seat beneath saidopening, the forward portion of said seat beingopen to permit the legsof the occupant to extend into water in which the vessel floats, acentral keel membeing open to permit the legs of the occupant toextendinto water in which the vessel floats, and manually actuatedpropelling means comprising a paddle wheel at the outer side of eachside wall, and a crank extending through each side wall and disposed infront of the o-cctupants position.

6. An aquatic toy comprising a buoyant vessel having a relatively flatbody including a prow and a stem with an intermediate opening for anoccupant, side walls extending upwardly and downwardly from said bodyand having inwardly curved merging portions to form a seat beneath saidopening, the forward portion of said seat being open to permit the legsof the occupant to extend into water in which the vessel floats, andmanually actuated propelling means comprising a paddle wheel at theouter side of each side wall, and a crank extending through each sidewall and disposed in front of the occupants position, said side wallshaving splash guards extending outwardly from their upper edges oversaid paddle wheels.

7. In an aquatic toy of the character described which comprises abuoyant vessel with side walls having external paddle wheels andinterior cranks for actuating them, a crank bushing extending throughthe walls, and a shaft in said bushing of X-shapd cross section toreduce bearing surface and admit water for lubrication.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,075,074 Uchtmann Oct. 7, 1913 1,600,084 Adolph Sept. 14, 19261,797,223 Annis Mar. 24, 1931 2,803,837 Virobik Aug. 27, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 140,587 Australia July 11, 1949

